Where there's a will, there's a way

- Masking is hard enough when working with an opaque…subject set against a relatively homogeneous background.…Well, what if that subject is casting a shadow…that you want to bring into another composition?…What if the subject is translucent…as in the case of say, a flame?…What if the subject contains the same colors…as his or her background?…What if the subject is wildly colorful…with elaborate ruffles, or fringes…set against a busy multi-colored background?…What then mister mask whiz, what then?…Well, when the masking gets tough the tough get masking.…

Which is my way of saying,…you've got your work cut out for you.…Fortunately, I have a few suggestions.…And while I can't show you each and every masking…curveball that might get thrown your way,…I do manage to cover shadows, flames,…blond hair, feathers,…and weird bushy things on the front of macaws…that I don't know what they're called.…If nothing else, watch the three final exercises…in which I explore three different ways…to approach images with busy backgrounds.…

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Released

12/1/2006

The elusive alpha channel remains one of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in Photoshop. Alpha channels are collections of luminance data that control the transparency of an image, and they inform just about every aspect of Photoshop. Selections, layer boundaries, masks, the Quick Mask mode, layer masks, knockouts, and masking with the Channels palette all rely on alpha channels. In Photoshop CS2 Channels and Masks, award-winning author and Photoshop expert Deke McClelland teaches channels and masks comprehensively. From channel masks to blue screens, blend modes to displacement maps, Color Range to Calculations, this training leaves no pixel unturned. Deke also covers how to select and composite highlights, shadows, people, fabric, feathers, glass, flames, lighting, and wispy hair. Exercise files accompany the tutorials.